Good morning, NUNAverse:
CNN reports that President Trump is planning to issue around 100 pardons and commutations tomorrow, which will include white collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others but, as of this morning that list is not expected to include President Trump himself. Officials expect the last batch to be the only one – unless Trump decides at the last minute to grant pardons to controversial allies, members of his family or himself.
President-elect Joe Biden plans to cancel the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL pipeline project as one of his first acts in office, and perhaps as soon as his first day, according to a source. The words “Rescind Keystone XL pipeline permit” appear on a list of executive actions likely scheduled for the first day of Biden’s presidency, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC).
Indian Health Service (IHS) Director, Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, a political appointee of President Trump, has been asked to resign effective on January 20, 2021, the day President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated. Weahkee informed tribal and urban Indian organizations leaders in a January 11, 2021 letter that he was asked to tender a resignation letter by officials of the incoming Biden administration.
The U.S. Forest Service released the 408-page FINAL Environment Impact Statement: Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange (FEIS) on Friday that will allow for the transfer of 2,500 acres of land – that includes Oak Flat – to British-Australian corporate mining giant Rio Tinto and its subsidiary, Resolution Copper. Apache Stronghold, on behalf of traditional Apache religious and cultural leaders, sued the Trump administration last week in U.S. District Court in Phoenix to stop the transfer. Oak Flat, or Chi’chil Bildagoteel, is a site considered sacred to Apaches and other tribal nations.
Anita DeFrantz, first vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), says it is time Jim Thorpe “be fully restored to his status as the sole winner of the 1912 decathlon and pentathlon.” On July 15, 1912, Thorpe (Sac and Fox, Potawatomi) was awarded two Olympic gold medals at the Stockholm Olympic Games. The next year after his Olympic victory, the IOC stripped Thorpe of his two gold medals and struck his name from the Olympic history books following a campaign that revealed he was compensated for room and board while playing minor league baseball prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Keep reading for a full news update.
COVID-19:
Navajo Nation Reports 96 New COVID-19 Case And Four More Deaths
Native News Online, January 17
The Navajo Department of Health reported 96 new Covid-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and four more deaths. The total number of deaths is now 919 as of Sunday. Reports indicate that 13,531 individuals have recovered from Covid-19, and 222,707 Covid-19 tests have been administered. The total number of positive Covid-19 cases is now 26,383.
Politics:
Trump To Issue Around 100 Pardons And Commutations Tuesday, Sources Say
CNN, Jeremy Diamon, Kevin Liptak, Jamie Gangel, Pamela Brown, Kaitlan Collins, January 18
President Donald Trump is preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter, a major batch of clemency actions that includes white collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others but — as of now — is not expected to include Trump himself.
New Administration Seeks Diversity In Filling Jobs
Indian Country Today, Joaqlin Estus, January 18
Traditionally a new president appoints thousands of people to federal jobs to shape policy and be the face of the new administration. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have also set the goal of creating an administration that “looks like America” and includes people of color, women, diverse ethnicity and faiths, LGBTQ and disability. The National Congress of American Indians hosted a webinar Thursday with current and former American Indian appointees explaining how to get some of those jobs.
Indian Health Service Director Michael Weahkee Asked To Resign By The Biden Transition Team
Native News Online, January 14
Indian Health Service (IHS) Director, Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, a political appointee of Donald Trump’s has been asked to resign effective on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden will be inaugurated. Weahkee informed tribal and urban Indian organizations leaders in a Jan. 11, 2021 letter that he was asked to tender a resignation letter by officials of the incoming Biden administration. Weahkee’s departure is normal for political appointees.
Law:
Flathead Indian Reservation Expanded To Include National Bison Range
Native News Online, January 17
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) of Montana’s Flathead Indian Reservation will include the National Bison Range when a transfer of property facilitated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) becomes complete. The transfer was announced by outgoing U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt on Friday, Jan. 15.
Tribes Seizing Mcgirt Opportunities Despite Hurdles
Indian Country Today, Kolby KickingWoman, January 16
Tribes in Oklahoma are being proactive in the continued fallout of a historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reaffirmed tribal sovereignty. The Cherokee and Chickasaw Nations see tribal-state compacts as a possible path forward to fix criminal jurisdiction gaps resulting from McGirt v. Oklahoma. In July, the high court ruled in that case that Congress never explicitly disestablished the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation boundaries in eastern Oklahoma.
U.S. Forest Environmental Impact Statement Released On Friday Allows For Mining At Oak Flat
Native News Online, January 16
The U.S. Forest Service released the 408-page FINAL Environment Impact Statement: Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange (FEIS) on Friday that will allow for the transfer of 2,500 acres of land—that includes Oak Flat— to British-Australian corporate mining giant Rio Tinto and its subsidiary, Resolution Copper. If the transfer is not halted, Resolution Copper plans to dig a huge mine under Oak Flat or Chi’chil Bildagoteel, a site considered sacred to Apaches and other tribal nations.
Gila River Sues Trump Administration
Indian Country Today, Dalton Walker, January 15
A southern Arizona tribe has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Trump administration for a yearslong failure to comply with a water settlement. The Gila River Indian Community filed a $225 million suit on Friday in federal claims court, accusing the federal government of not properly investing funds set aside for the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund under the Arizona Water Settlement Act of 2004. The tribe accused the federal government of not complying with the act from 2005 to 2017.
Oklahoma Tribes Want Criminal Justice Agreements With State
AP News, January 15
Tribe leaders of the Cherokee and Chickasaw Nations want Congress to allow them to make agreements with the state of Oklahoma in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding criminal jurisdictions. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the decision— which ruled that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal cases against Native American defendants in parts of the state— affirmed that the reservations of the Five Tribes were never disestablished. He said Congress should protect that ruling and give tribes and the state the power to enter compacts regarding criminal jurisdiction.
GOP Lawmaker Pushes Bill To Prevent Renaming Of Indianapolis
AP News, January 15
A Republican lawmaker has proposed a measure that would ban the changing of any Indiana city names in the wake of Native American protests that forced the renaming of professional sports teams. No efforts have emerged seeking to change the name of Indiana or Indianapolis along the lines of those that prompted recent decisions to rename the NFL’s Washington Football Team and Cleveland’s MLB baseball franchise.
Other:
Biden May Cancel Keystone XL Pipeline Permit As Soon As His First Day In Office
Reuters, January 17
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is planning to cancel the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL pipeline project as one of his first acts in office, and perhaps as soon as his first day, according to a source familiar with his thinking. President Donald Trump, a Republican, had made building the pipeline a central promise of his presidential campaign. Biden, who will be inaugurated on Wednesday, was vice president in the Obama administration when it rejected the project as contrary to its efforts to combat climate change.
American Indian College Fund Receives $600,000 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant
Native News Online, January 17
The American Indian College Fund received a two-year, $600,000 grant from The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, to help tribal college communities strengthen and expand the pipeline for Native teachers through its Indigenous Early Childhood Education Systemic Engagement and ECE Learning in Native American Communities program. Early childhood education can help close the college education attainment gap among American Indians and Alaska Natives—which is currently less than half of other groups at 14.8 percent—by improving students’ academic achievement, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Ribbon Cutting Held For OSU College Of Osteopathic Medicine At The Cherokee Nation In Tahlequah
Native News Online, January 17
The Cherokee Nation and Oklahoma State University celebrated another milestone with the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation on Friday, Jan. 15. The OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation is the first tribally affiliated medical school on tribal land in the country with a focus on educating primary care physicians who have an interest in serving rural and underserved populations in Oklahoma.
IOC VP: Jim Thorpe Victim Of “One Of The Most Egregious Miscarriages Of Justice In Sports History”
Native News Online, January 17
Anita DeFrantz, first vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), says it is time Jim Thorpe “be fully restored to his status as the sole winner of the 1912 decathlon and pentathlon.” DeFrantz penned an opinion for The Washington Post last week that says justice is overdue for Thorpe.
Blackfeet Boxing
Via Instagram, Mariska Hargitay, January 17
No scorecards, no trophies. The prize? Survival. Watch this knockout of a film “Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible” about the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women on reservations across the country. Thank you co-directors @klappas14 and my dear friend Tom Rinaldi for shedding light. Now streaming on #espn+ #blackfeetboxing #espn #MMIW
U.S. Navy To Name Rescue Ship USNS Muscogee Creek Nation (T-ATS-10)
Native News Online, January 16
The Navy announced on Friday, Jan. 15, at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City that a future Navajo-class towing, salvage, and rescue ship will be named USNS Muscogee Creek Nation (T-ATS 10) to honor the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, based in Okmulgee, Okla. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is the largest of the federally recognized Muscogee tribes, which is the fourth largest tribe in the U.S. with more than 86,000 citizens – some of whom have or continue to serve across the U.S. Armed Forces.
Outcry As Trump Officials To Transfer Sacred Native American Land To Miners
The Guardian, Annette McGivney, January 16
As one of its last acts, the Trump administration has set in motion the transfer of sacred Native American lands to a pair of Anglo-Australian mining conglomerates. The 2,422-acre Arizona parcel called Oak Flat is of enormous significance to the Western Apache and is now on track for destruction by what is slated to be one of the largest copper mining operations in the United States.
All-Female Healthcare Team Rushes COVID Vaccine By Snowmobile To Alaska’s Rural Elders
Via Instagram, Tanksgoodnews, January 16
Nothing can stop them! “It’s just such an incredible opportunity to work with them,” Dean said of her female colleagues. “It was definitely an impactful and powerful moment to realize that we’ve all braved quite a bit to get there and provide care.”
Apaches Object To Forest Service Review Of Huge Copper Mine
AP News, Felicia Fonseca, January 15
The U.S. Forest Service released an environmental review Friday that paves the way for the creation of one of the largest copper mines in the United States, against the wishes of a group of Apaches who have been trying for years to stop the project. The Forest Service now has 60 days to turn over a tract of land in Tonto National Forest east of Phoenix to Resolution Copper Mining, a joint venture of the international mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP.
California Truth, Healing Council Begins Historic Work
Indian Country Today, Kolby KickingWoman, January 15
Two years ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a formal apology to tribes in the state for atrocities committed against them and for the history of genocide and oppression they endured. He also decided to put action, and money, behind his words. Through an executive order, the governor established the California Truth and Healing Council to provide an avenue for Native Americans “to clarify the record – and provide their historical perspective – on the troubled relationship between tribes and the state.” This first-of-its-kind panel recently held its initial meeting to discuss what it hopes to accomplish.
Tribal Chairman Says Time To ‘Mend’ Relationship With State
AP News, Stephen Groves, January 14
Native Americans and the South Dakota government should seek out ways to cooperate following a year in which Gov. Kristi Noem and tribal leaders clashed over coronavirus measures, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux said Thursday in the annual State of the Tribes address. Chairman Mike Faith struck a positive tone in the speech to lawmakers, emphasizing areas where they can find common ground, including law enforcement, addiction treatment and the common experience of deaths amid the pandemic.
‘World’s Greatest Athlete’ Jim Thorpe Was Wronged By Bigotry. The IOC Must Correct The Record.
The Washington Post, Anita DeFrantz, January 13
For those who know the story of the Native American athlete Jim Thorpe and the 1912 Olympic Games, it may be familiar mainly as an example of how the elitist cult of amateurism a century ago resulted in one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in sports history.
But the withdrawal of Thorpe’s gold-medal victories in the demanding pentathlon and decathlon events is better understood as a stinging episode of early 20th-century bigotry. The International Olympic Committee, of which I am a member, should restore Thorpe as the sole first-place finisher in his Olympic medal events.